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Buying a Computer, Part Three

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Great. Now I've got to choose an "operating system". What's an operating system?

The operating system is the "environment" that all of your programs will work in. Currently, there are only a few choices: Macintosh, Windows, or a Unix derivative (Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, etc.). For most folks, the choice is only between a Macintosh or a Windows system. I have used all of the above systems, and each has its quirks.

Most people have at least heard about Windows, if only because it runs on 85% of all the desktop computers in the world. Windows has an enormous number of software titles available for it. In general, if you need a particular piece of software, there is probably someone somewhere selling a version for Windows. Windows comes in two "flavors", Windows 98 (or Windows 95 in its previous incarnations) and Windows NT. Windows NT requires a larger system to run successfully, and can be confusing for the new user to administer, but has the advantage of having more capability and is, to a certain extent, more stable. Windows 98 is simpler to operate and can use a less powerful computer, but is more unstable than its NT cousin (it is prone to crashes and "hangs"). Windows 98 (or Windows 95) must run on a Intel-compatible computer, while Windows NT can run on either an Intel-compatible or Alpha computer (Alpha, originated by Digital Equipment Corporation and now owned by Compaq, is an incredibly fast machine, but suffers from a dearth of software providers).

The Macintosh has always been touted as the best system for people who know little about computers. While its interface is more consistent than Windows, and the Mac is usually very stable, I have found that a Mac can be just as confusing to a new user as Windows. A problem with the Mac is software -- compared to Windows, there is not as much software for the Macintosh. However, I have found that all software that is normally needed is available, and is usually very good quality. In fact, most popular titles can be found for both Mac and Windows. Probably the biggest problem with Macs is the way they interact with Windows systems (or, more correctly, the way Windows systems interact with Macs). If you foresee a need to have a "mixed" shop (both Windows and Mac), be prepared to deal with some problems.

As for Unix, well, it can best be described as "user-hostile". It is an excellent system with an incredible stability record (while Windows systems often crash daily (or hourly), Unix systems have been known to be up for years). A Unix system would be a good choice for a network server or database server. However, you must have someone on your staff that understands the system. Unix is not for a computer-illiterate person! Linux is the current Unix "fad" system, for several reasons: It uses standard (and inexpensive) PC hardware, it is "lightweight" (uses very little of a computer's resources), and it is cheap (potentially free!). It is also the only operating system in the world whose source is available, free of charge. What does that mean to you? Well, it means that a fix to a software problem is often only an e-mail away. In fact, your local guru might be able to "tweak" the source and fix your problem this afternoon! Compare this to months for a fix from Microsoft or Apple! Other well-known versions of Unix are FreeBSD (a distant cousin of Linux), and Solaris (run on Sun (SPARC) computers, as well as PC hardware).

So, most likely you're looking at a Macintosh or a Windows system. If you're looking at a Macintosh, you'll have to call Apple or visit one of the computer chain stores (Circuit City, Comp USA, etc…). Keep in mind the purpose you have in mind, and check out the software you will need. If you are looking at a Windows system, your choices are much wider.

How to choose hardware

There are several schools of thought on how to choose hardware. I'll present them to you and let you decide which matches your situation.

The first method I'll call the As Much As You Can Afford Method (or the Katy Bar The Door approach). This method says that the performance curve on computers is rising at such an incredible rate that you better get as much as you can possibly afford at this time so that the computer will be "usable" for the longest time. While the computer itself will continue to function as it does today, you will find that software you may buy in 3 or 4 years will not support today's computer. That's just the way the business is today. The advantage to this method is that the computer might actually be useful to the end of your depreciation of the asset. The disadvantage is that it often puts you at what is called the "bleeding edge" of technology. Sometimes that extra 25 Megahertz of processor speed can make the computer crash all the time.

The second method (and the one I advocate) is what I'll call The Knee Of The Curve Method (or the ROI Optimization approach). This method recognizes that there is a "knee" in the performance/cost curves, above which cost increases radically for just a little better (faster, bigger) device. Right now, the monitor knee is at 17-inch monitors - 19-inch monitors aren't that much bigger, but the cost soars compared to the 10% increase in screen size. This method usually selects the "better" system from the "good, better, best" sales trio. The advantage to this method is that you get "almost" as good a system as the first method, but the cost is significantly less. The disadvantage is that you need to do some investigative work to check out the price versus performance curves. Also, the computer may become "obsolete" sooner than the other approach, but we may be able to "upgrade" components to help keep up (an option in the first method as well).

The third method I'll talk about is the Diffusion Method (or the First Kid's Hand-Me-Down approach). This method is a variant of either of the first two with the mindset that says, "this machine is going to Engineering now, but in one year will go to Sales (or Technical Writing, or whatever), and maybe a couple of years later it will go to the Receptionist." Thus, we get an extended "useful life" and can argue ourselves into a larger purchase up front. In addition, we have a built-in upgrade strategy for the real power user in your business. The disadvantage is that sometimes we don't know who the real power user is. Surprisingly, a secretary (office or administrative assistant, these days) may be the real power user - all those slide presentations actually take quite a bit of computer power to build up! Asking for last minute changes in huge documents will only take longer if you have an old computer doing it.

The final method I'll call the Cheapskate (or the Scrooge approach). This does everything on the cheap, goes for the lowest cost items available, goes for absolutely nothing more than is absolutely required. The advantage to this method is that you can find a cheap system - right now, there are several manufacturers looking to "bottom-fish". The problem is, of course, that you might be buying someone's loss leader, and that they didn't put as much effort into quality control as into their higher ticket items. In addition, you may end up buying a system that is literally months away from obsolescence. The Cheapskate method should be used only if you know what you're doing, since cheap components can often give surprisingly subtle problems.

Which method you use depends on the computer's purpose and your own mindset. I have seen businesses that actually use all of the above, depending on the primary use of the computer. No matter which method you choose, though, you should stick to some minimum RAM and hard disk sizes. These are higher (in some cases, much higher) than the "minimum" sizes given by the manufacturers.

Warning! Warning! Geek Speak follows!

Okay, I admit it. I originally wrote the following thinking "ahh, they should be ready for this." There comes a time in any article when you have to get down to the, shall we say, "nitty gritty". So I wrote it up and submitted it. Then my wife delicately put warnings through the section warning about techno-speak. Sigh.

I'm about to talk about two pieces of hardware in your computer - the "RAM" (Random Access Memory) and the "hard disk". As I've discussed before, RAM comes in "Megabytes" (millions of bytes), and hard disks come in "Gigabytes" (billions of bytes). A "byte" is a basic unit of storage, roughly equivalent to a single character (this isn't the real definition, but it should get you going). Thus, a written page of text is roughly 5,000 bytes.

A hard disk has billions of bytes!?! What are we storing, the Encyclopedia Galactica? No, but trust me -- it gets used. So, without further ado...

The Nitty Gritty on RAM and Hard-Disk Sizes

RAM is something you should never buy at the minimum size. No matter what system you buy, adding RAM will improve performance, in many cases drastically. In fact, RAM will usually make a bigger difference in system performance than the speed of the processor!

For instance the machine I am writing this on is equipped with a relatively fast processor (a 450 Megaherz AMD K6-2, for the techno-babble oriented) and 128 Megabytes of RAM -- plenty for most cases. However, in the process of building a new graphic for the Venture Consult.com web page, the machine seemed to go nuts. It came to a grinding halt, all while the hard disk chattered incessantly. This is what is called "VM thrash" -- the computer's memory is full, and so it starts using the hard disk to store little notes to itself to remember things that won't fit in the RAM. It eventually had so many little notes that it spent all its time writing and reading the little notes -- and not working on the problem! I went out and increased the RAM from 128 Megabytes to 256 Megabytes changed the problem from "it didn't finish in 2 hours" to "it finished in 4 minutes"! I don't know about you, but I'd call that improved performance!

Could I improve that 4 minutes even further? Perhaps, but that task is not something I commonly do. My computer only has 3 memory slots, and the largest memory card I can currently purchase for my computer is 128 Megabytes, so the largest memory I can have (right now) is 384 Megabytes. In a year or so, larger memory cards will be available (they always are). In the meantime, adding an extra 50% of RAM isn't worth the $400 it cost me for a 128 Megabyte card, so I'll watch for "VM thrash" and wait.

Do you always have to double your RAM size? No. Nevertheless, keep in mind that if you're having problems, a 10% increase in memory probably won't help.

For Windows 95 or Windows 98 systems, Apple systems, or Unix systems, you should buy at least 64 Megabytes of RAM, and you should consider 128 Megabytes. For Windows NT systems, double those numbers (128 Megabytes "minimum", 256 Megabytes recommended). Note that if the system will be handling a large data application (like a database server, a huge engineering application, a web server, video or audio editing, graphics manipulation), even my recommended sizes may be too small. Let your computer consultant guide you, but don't accept a system with less than the minimums set out above.

Hard disk is another "never buy at the minimum", but not necessarily because of improved performance. No matter what you do with your computer, you will always want more disk space. I don't know why, but the need for more disk space is legendary. These days, its not hard to pick up a lot more space for not much money. Most systems come "standard" with about 6 to 9 Gigabytes of disk -- generous by standards of even 3 years ago. And, in fact, that would be my minimum for most systems. However, you might consider disk sizes of about double that (13 to 20Gigabytes) if you can afford it. Keep in mind the mission of the machine; if it will be serving a large database, try to size the disk at least 4 times the current database size to allow for growth.